Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Netherlands
Netherlands: Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher was 85.5% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Netherlands, 2006–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Netherlands stood at 85.5%. That is the lowest value across all 18 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.0% on the previous year and down 7.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Netherlands peaked at 93.9% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 85.5%, in 2023.
That places Netherlands 30th out of 31 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 18 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Netherlands, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 93.5% | — |
| 2007 | 93.9% | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 91.8% | -2.3% |
| 2009 | 91.3% | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 92.9% | +1.7% |
| 2011 | 93.0% | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 92.9% | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 92.1% | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 90.9% | -1.3% |
| 2015 | 91.2% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 92.5% | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 92.6% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 91.3% | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 92.2% | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 92.2% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 87.4% | -5.2% |
| 2022 | 89.0% | +1.8% |
| 2023 | 85.5% | -4.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 92.6% | 91.3% | 93.9% | 4 |
| 2010s | 92.2% | 90.9% | 93.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 88.5% | 85.5% | 92.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
- 27 France 91.5% compare
- 28 Belgium 87.4% compare
- 29 Brunei Darussalam 86.0% compare
- 31 Costa Rica 74.8% compare
More education data for Netherlands
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 98,851 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 64.2% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 14.9% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 104.16 (2023)
- School enrollment, primary 104.2% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Netherlands?
- Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Netherlands was 85.5% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 93.9% in 2007.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 85.5% in 2023.
- How does Netherlands rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- Netherlands ranks 30th out of 31 countries with data for 2023.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Netherlands data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher, population 25+ years, immigrant background, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release